Surgical drapes and surgical pouches are an important consideration in the medical field. It is well known to cover patients undergoing surgery with surgical drapes to create a sterile barrier around the surgical site. Some surgical drapes have fenestrations, or pre-defined openings, used during the procedures for one of two primary purposes, namely, to give access through the drape to the surgical site or to accommodate a portion of the patient's anatomy. In either case, the fenestration provides an opening in the drape to isolate the surgical site, and thereby create a sterile field between the body portion containing the surgical site and the remainder of the patient's body. It is also well know to use surgical pouches in combination with surgical drapes to collect fluids or retain limbs during surgeries.
During surgeries, surgeons need to control the placement of surgical equipment and supplies, such as tools, tubes, electrical wiring, and the like. Surgeons also need simple control of the fluid byproducts of surgery such as patient blood or fluids injected as part of the surgery, for example, irrigation fluids. Generally, simple surgical pouches have been used along with drapes to handle the fluid runoff while clamps and ties have been used for securing tubes and wires, for example, to a portion of the drape itself.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,339,831 discloses a pouch within a pouch design for collecting irrigation fluids and retaining a human appendage during surgery.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,874,505 discloses a single compartment pouch for retaining excess fluids, for securing surgical tubes and lines, and for storage of equipment.